A Tale of Two Weddings

My husband and I have five children – three sons and two daughters. And both of those daughters are getting married this summer! Pretty much any time we say that to someone, their eyes get big, and they say something to the effect of “I can’t imagine planning two weddings at the same time!” or “How are you going to do that?” or at least an elusive “Oh my gosh!” And although the lady at the bridal store made me laugh with her “God bless your pockets!” sentiment, I was growing a little weary of convincing people that this truly is a time of celebration for us.

I get it, though. I do. These are big occasions that require a lot of planning, time, money, and cooperation. I’m not saying that having two weddings within two months of each other is no big deal. It is! But our family is intentionally choosing to embrace celebration and not let stress rule this season for us. We are slowly and steadily working on all the plans. My list-making skills are coming in handy and helping me stay on track. We will get it all done, and BOTH weddings will be beautiful, special, and unique to each couple.

This isn’t the only time in our lives when we have intentionally chosen joy and gratitude over stress and worry. It has become a discipline for my husband and me. We are far from perfect in this discipline, but we do at least recognize that we have the ability to choose where we place our focus. We frequently remind each other that worrying over what-ifs is a fruitless endeavor and that time and time again throughout our lives, God has continued to provide just what we need, exactly when we need it. We try to live generously and open-handedly, believing that God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. And that includes our immediate family. God has blessed our daughters with men who love them well, and we want to bless them with the gift of celebration! Not just getting through it.

Will there be stressful times along the way? Absolutely. There already have been. Will we be spending a lot of money all at once (well, twice)? You bet. But also, our daughters and their fiancés are very practical and know how to work within a budget. We are doing most everything ourselves, and we are blessed to have family and friends who are generously offering to help us make these days special and meaningful. We haven’t raised our children all by ourselves, so it makes sense that their wedding days will also be a team effort.

Maybe you noticed that I haven’t written anything new in a few months (or maybe you didn’t… ). That is because I also made the intentional choice to put my writing on hold for a while so that I can fully give my attention to my family as we prepare for these big life events. My writing life has always been secondary to my parenting life. Thankfully, my parenting life is mostly what I write about, so I’m always gaining more experience that I can use in future writings. This is not the first time I have paused my writing, and it won’t be the last. I want to be busy living my life, not just writing about it.

My goal in writing is always to offer other people a lot of encouragement and a little bit of challenge. My encouragement to you today is to take the time and intentionality to celebrate all the big and small milestones happening in your own family. My challenge to you is to choose to focus on the joy and goodness rather than the stress and worry in all of it. And my prayer is that everything draws us all closer to Jesus.

I plan to get back to my writing in a few months, so stay tuned for future pieces that will likely include thoughts about being a parent to young, married adults. (I’m already learning and trying to grow in this.)